With all the news of Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s marriage and infidelities, emotions are running high and there has been a lot of discussion about Mr. Schwarzenegger being a “bad guy.”
Did you file a joint income tax return with your spouse or former spouse only to find out later that he or she omitted income on the return?
Maybe, for example, Bob was skimming money off the top of his construction business and gambling it all away in Atlantic City. His wife Sue had no knowledge of these activities and signed joint returns that failed to report all of their income. A few years later, Bob and Sue are divorced, and Bob has relocated to unknown address. The IRS now discovers Bob’s omitted income from the previous years. They want to collect, but can’t find Bob, so they turn to Sue. Does Sue have to pay all of the unreported taxes?
There is nothing more upsetting to a parent than receiving a call from the Police or school officials with the news that their child may have committed some criminal offense.